V E R 



At other times, we find expreflions tliat feem to be im- 

 proper, and that nevcrthclefs are juftifiable according to the 

 ufage of the Italian lang-uage. Words are alfo ufed in a 

 fenie that is very rare in the clafTic writers. Moreover, 

 4hefe verfions contain very numerous Hebraifms, or rather 

 Syriafms, that are diametrically oppofite to the genius 

 of the Latin : from which circumllance we may infer, that 

 fome of thcfe verfions were made by Jewifh converts, whofe 

 native language was the Syriac. The language of thefe ver- 

 fions has materially influenced the Latin of the church, 

 which is not only unclaflical, but has a tinfture of the 

 oriental idiom, though in a much lower degree than the ver- 

 fions themfelves. 



Michaelis differs from Mills, who refers the origin of the 

 oldeft Latin verfion no higher than to the time of pope Pius, 

 in the middle of the fecond century, and who fuppofes that 

 the Latin verfion was made by public authority, or under 

 the direftion of the bifhop of Rome. It is, fays the pro- 

 feffor, very improbable, if a trandator had been appointed 

 by a bifhop or a council, that a writer would have been 

 chofen, who was fo little mafler of the Latin. He there- 

 fore fuppofes, that the real ftate of the cafe was as follows. 

 The New Teflament was read in the Chriflian churches, in 

 the fame manner as the Old Tettament in the Jewifh fyna- 

 gogues ; and as the Jews, after reading the original He- 

 brew, explained it by a Chaldee paraphrafe, the Chriftian 

 bifhops and public teachers expounded the pafTages in Latin, 

 which they firfl read in the Greek. At firfl this was done 

 extempore ; but by degrees, in order to facilitate the public 

 fervice, thefe tranflations were committed to writing, and at 

 length communicated to the different members. By thefe 

 means we may account for their great variety, and the con- 

 fufion, which might have been avoided by a verfion ordained 

 by the public authority of the Chriflian church. 



As it cannot be denied, that the oldefl Latin verfions are 

 of very high antiquity, though fome of their readings are 

 falfe, their principal ufe in the criticifm of the New Tefla- 

 ment is, that they lead us to a difcovery of the readings of 

 the very ancient Greek MSS. that exiiled prior to the date 

 of any that are now extant. The great confufion which 

 prevailed in the copies of the old Latin verfion induced pope 

 Damafus to employ Jerom in corredling it ; and among all 

 the Latin fathers, before and after his time, it feems that 

 no one was better quahfied for the tafl<. Jerom finiflied 

 this work about the year 384; but F. Simon obferves, that 

 the Vulgate, after the time of Jerom, was manifeilly dif- 

 ferent from the old verfion, in all the books of the New 

 Teflament. He partly expunged the fpurious readings, 

 and partly corrected the tranflations, which appeared to be 

 erroneous ; but it mufl be acknowledged, that, with the 

 beft intention, he has fometimes altered for the worfe. See 

 Vulgate, and Latin Bibles. 



The learned and ingenious Eichorn, in his Introduflion 

 to the Old Teflament, fuppofes, not improbably, that the 

 firfl Latin verfion of the bible was made in Africa, where 

 Latin alone being underllood, a tranflation was more necef- 

 fary, where the Latin verfion was held in the higheil venera- 

 tion, and where the language being fpoken with lefs purity, 

 barbarifms might have more cafily been introduced, than in 

 a provincial town in Italy. But the Greek Teflament 

 could not have been tranflaled into Latin before the canon 

 had been formed, which was certainly not made in the firfl 

 «cntury. Michaelis by Marfli. 



Of the modern Latin verfioiis, the firfl we fhall mention 



is that of F.rafmus, who tranfliittd the New Teflament from 



the Greek ; following not only the printed copic», but alfo 



four Greek MSS., and varying very little from llie Vulgate. 



9 



V E R 



The firfl edition appeared in 15 16, and dedicated to pope 

 Leo X. 



Arius Montanus undertook, by order of the council of 

 Trent, as fome pretend, a verfion of the Old and New 

 Teflaments ; following, in hie tranflation of the Old Tefla- 

 ment, Pagninus, keeper of the Vatican library, who had 

 tranflated the Old Teflament from the Hebrew, by order 

 of Clement VIII. As for the New Teflament, he oidy 

 changed fome words in it, where he found that the Vulgate 

 differed from the Hebrew. See Bible. 



A Latin verfion of the whole New Teflament, except the 

 Revelations, is afcribed to Thomas de Vio, a Dominican, 

 commonly ftyled cardinal Cajetan ; but not underflanding 

 Greek, he probably procured fome perfon to perform the 

 work in his name. This was printed at Venice in 1530 

 and 1531, with the cardinal's commentaries. Another 

 Latin verfion was publifhed by an Englifh writer in 1540, 

 and dedicated to Henry VIII. 



The Zurich verfion is one of the mofl ancient Latin 

 tranflations made by Proteflants. Part of it was done by 

 Leo Juda, one of the miniflers of that city, aided by fome 

 of his learned brethren ; but being prevented by death from 

 completing it, he left it to the care of T. Bibliander, pro- 

 feffor at Zurich, who, aided by Conradus Pellican, profefTcr 

 of Hebrew in the fame place, tranflated the reft of the Old 

 Teflament. The New Teflament was continued by Peter 

 Cholin, profefFor in divinity, and by Rodolph Gualterus, 

 Leo Juda's fucceffor in the miniflerial office. This verfion 

 was pubhfhed in 1544. The feventh verfe of the fifth 

 chapter of the firfl epiftle of St. John is omitted in this ver- 

 fion, and placed in the margin. This paffage was not in- 

 ferted by Erafmus in his firfl editions of the New Teflament, 

 becaufe he did not find it in the Greek copies ; but having 

 afterwards found it in a MS. in England, he introduced it 

 into fubfequent editions. In the following years, Robert 

 Stephens pnnted this edition, with a few alteiations ; joining 

 to it the Hebrew text and the Vulgate, and notes from the 

 public ledlures of Vatablus. See Latin Bibles. 



Seballian Caflalio publifhed a Latin bible, which has 

 been both cenfured and admired. See Latin Bibles, and 

 Castalio. 



Theodorus Beza's Latin verfion has been much approved 

 by Proteflants, but depreciated by the Roman Catholics. 

 It has been alfo cenfured by bifhop Walton and Dr. Mills. 

 See Bible. 



Version of Origcn. See Hexapla and Tetrapla. 



Version, Perfian. See Bible. 



ViSHSlON, Pejhito and Philoxinian. See Syriac Verfion. 



Version, Slavonian or Ruffian. See Bible. 



Version, Sahidic. See Bible. 



Version, Syriac. See Syriac Verfion, and Bible. 



For an account of Englifh, Flemifh, French, Gaelic, 

 Georgian, German, Indian, Irifh, Italian, Rhenifh, Saxon, 

 Sfiani/h, and IVel^ verfions, fee Bible. See alfo Poly- 

 glott. 



VERSITZ, or Versecz, in Geography, a town of Hun- 

 gai-y. It is the fee of a Greek bifliop, aiid contains fome 

 extenfive barracks, with about 12,000 inhabitants. Near 

 it are the ruins of a callle ; 20 miles N.N.W. of Vipa- 

 lanka. 



VERSMOLD, a town of the county of Ravenfburg ; 

 10 miles N.W. of Bielefeld. N. lat. ^2" 2'. E. long. 8-" 5'. 



VERSO. Sec Folio Verfo. 



VERSOIX, in Geography, a town of Fr.incc, in the 

 department of the Ain, at the mouth of a river of the 

 fame name, on the fide of the Icdte of Geneva ; 6 miles S.E. 

 of Gex. 



Vkbsoix, 



